Could this be a record? Last week I managed to complete a long-standing project in Ravattula in Turku. And by long-standing I mean long. About 7 years in this case. Kev and I first started bouldering there in maybe 1994. To do a traverse on the main wall you have to pass a blank section by climbing up and around and down again, which somehow seems illogical. Every year I've tried, now and again, to work out the sequence for the low level traverse on tiny holds and bulging rock. And last week, finally, it goes, just like that..... now wasn't that a long-standing project?

Ravattula is a good place by the way, so anybody visiting Luolavuori could usefully spend some time there as well.

I've never been so much into projects. Two days being maybe longest I've focused on some specific problem. Of course there isn't a moment when my mind isn't possessed by some line. Most of this spring that line has been "Teräsmies" at Mellunmäki. I've tried it on three different days this year, every time getting little closer. Am I too short? Jarno who's 2cm taller than me did it on the second day of trying. Poor excuse but it seems like it's height dependent

Long projects
Masurkka at Taivaskallio was a project for many years. I have no idea when it was considered possible or when someone first tried it but it was a long time ago.

In the US Mandala is perhaps the greatest example of a long-standing public project. I think I've read somewhere that JOhn Bachar described it in the 70's as the greatest line in the US after Nose or something.

Anyway, good effort Dave. I suppose all your trips to mountains were just good practise for that problem at Ravattula...

I have had a couple of long-standing projects. The first one was Melankolia at Mellunmäki, which I tried for some 15-20 days in the course of two years before doing it. Now I´m projecting a dyno in Koivusaari that I first tried three or four years ago. Last Sunday I was close to doing it and I think that I can do it during this summer.

One of the problems in Helsinki that has been considered doable, but has not been done, is a hard dyno at Meilahti. It is located on the very right end of the cliff near the house. It has been tried for at least 6/7 years.

Is that the one on the beautiful rounded rock which goes to the mad slap? There is always chalk on the slap so I presumed it gets done. Do people hit the slap but can't hold it? It looks very Fontainleau-esque.

Anton has been close to doing it. He has supposedly found some slightly different way to (nearly)do the move, but holding on after the slap seems much harder than the slap. At the moment Anton seems to be the most likely candidate to do it because he is unbelievably strong and has a very effective technique. There are a couple of other people who have been close to doing it: Lasse Lind was supposedly close a couple of years ago, but he doesn´t climb much anymore. Jari Pöllänen was also close to do it last summer, but I don´t know if he has been attempting it this year, although it doesnt really matter because it is too hot (or humid) to try it during the summer. It is one wicked little problem, hopefully someone will complete it in near future.

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